The desire to enhance the shape and size of the female breast is age-old. Responsive to this desire, brassiere makers have constructed numerous types and styles of brassieres having padded breast cups for breast enhancement. In one category, brassieres have been developed for women having small breasts and who wish to enlarge and enhance the appearance of their breasts without resorting to implants or other surgical procedures. The padding or molded foam layers, however, are often thick, bulky, and lack the desired degree of pliability and the appearance of real breasts.
To address this problem, underwires and frames have been incorporated into lighter-weight brassiere constructions, but these have failed to satisfactorily change the shape of the breasts. While uplifting, these constructions also have not enhanced the perceived size of the wearer's breasts.
Other attempts at breast enhancement have included the use of inserts within the breast cups. Where foam or other inserts have been attempted, they have either required special pockets on the insides of the cups, or have been laminated between bulky molded cups. These bulky cup constructions are not only thick, but also fail to provide a real breast-like appearance and feel desired by the wearer.
What is needed, therefore, is a brassiere cup construction that provides the desired lift and enhancement to the breast in a lightweight brassiere construction, which retains the real breast-like appearance.
Various features and aspects of the invention will become apparent upon review of the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, which are briefly described as follows.